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Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Act 2026: Passage of the legislation

The Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill 2024-26 (Bill 401 of 2024-26) was introduced to the House of Commons on 5 March 2026. The bill (PDF) and the explanatory notes (PDF) have been published on the UK Parliament website.

It received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026.

Purpose and effect of the bill

The purpose of the bill was to increase the number of ministers who can be paid a salary under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975. The act limited the total number of ministerial salaries to 109.

The bill proposed increasing the limit from 109 to 120.

Another limit, of a total of 95 ministers (paid or unpaid) in the House of Commons is unaffected by the bill.

If the bill were enacted this means that the minimum number of paid ministers in the House of Lords would increase from 14 to 25 (if all available ministerial salaries were utilised).

The bill addresses concerns raised during the passage of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill about the number of unpaid ministers in the House of Lords.

The provisions would come into force on Royal Assent.

The bill covered reserved matters so there was no requirement for legislative consent from the devolved legislatures.

Passage of the bill

The bill completed its passage through the House of Commons on 17 March 2026. Following the second reading debate, the bill was considered in committee. It was not amended - no amendments had been tabled. It was then given a third reading. It was certified as a money bill and sent to the House of Lords.

It was debated at second reading only in the Lords, on 14 April 2026. As it was a money bill the remaining stages were taken formally.

The bill received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, in the prorogation ceremony. The Ministerial and other Salaries (Amendment) Act 2026 is available on legislation.gov.uk.